Railroad-rail



A' C' VAUGHAN.

Ra,110a,d.RaJi1l v No. 226,811. l Patented April 2o, A1880.

lllllnuzgmnn lllnum O `WIT-NESSES z ATT0RNEYS- NITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn,

AARON C. VAUGHAN, OF SOHANES CROSSING, OHIO.

RAILROAD-RAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,811, dated April 20, 1880.

Application led February 21, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AARON O.VAUGHAN, of Schanes Crossing, in the county of Mercer and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Rail; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figurel is a perspective view ot' three of the rail sections, showing the mode of laying them, the sections, however, being shorter in proportion than they would be in practice, for want of space. Fig. 2 is an enlarged crosssectio'n of the rail taken through one of the connecting-bolts.

My invention rela-tes to a continuous rail of the T-shape class, built up of two longitudinal sections arranged with lap-joints and designed to render the track smoother and safer and to dispense with fish-plates.

It consists in dividing the rail longitudina-lly into two sections, which, when put together, complete the T-shaped form, with the line of division running through the web, a portion of the base, and a portion ofthe tread, and forming one of the sections with the larger base and tread portion and the smaller web portion, and forming the other section with the -smaller base and tread and larger web portion, and then laying these sections alternately, whereby the joints of one set of sections alternate with the joints of the other set, so that all the joints are lap-joints and the rail is a continuous one of au equal T-shape` cross-section throughout its entire length.

The invention also consists in constructing the two sections so that they tit together with a wedging action to take up worn slack; and, further, in constructing that section of the rail which has the larger base portion with a groove at the point where the corner or angle of the other section bears upon it, and in extending the base-flange of the smaller section to range Yof contact with the spikes, as hereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, A represents one longitudinal section of the rail, and A the other. rllhe section A of the rail includes the larger por- 5o tion of the base a and the larger portion of the tread b, but the lesser half of the web c,

as shown in Fig. 2, while the section A comprehends the larger half of the web c and a small portion, a. of the hase, and a small portion, b', of the tread. In locating the line of division of thc rail the cut which bisects the tread and that which cuts through the upper portion of the base converge toward each other as they approach the web portion of A, so that the section A fit-s in with a wedging action, so as to take up any worn slack and avoid any jingling of the rails. Just at the point where the web portion of A joins the base I form a groove, d, the object of which is to avoid a sharp angle at this point, which is required to prevent steel from suddenly snapping or breaking, and which also serves to secure a solid support for the edge of the section A', which, it will be seen, is made with a square corner, e. V

In fitting the two sections of the rails together, said sections, which are made of equal length and preferably about thirty feet long,

of the other set of sections, so as to form a continuous rail of uniform transverse size connected by lap-joints. These sections I bolt together with the same number of bolts ff that are ordinarily used for fastening shplates, but arranged differently-z'. e., instead of having' two bolts at each end of each rail, making four in all, I arrange one bolt,f, at the end of each section, and two bolts, j" f', in the middle, for connecting the abutting ends of the rail-sections on the other side. For permitting a slight endwise movement in adapting the rail-sections to expansion and contraction without bending, I form, as usual, the bolt-holes in one or both of the rail-sections in the nature of horizontal slots to compensate for this.

In making use of myinvention I do not conne myself to the location of the abutting joints of one set of rail-sections midway the rails of the other section, as this is not necessary, and can be departed froml so long as the sections ou one side break the joints of the sections on the other. When the two sections of the rails are thus bolted together the weight of the trains on the tread of the rail is sustained partly by the portion of the web whichv IOO is connected to the base and tread and partly by the other section, A', which rests under the overhan gin g edge of the tread, and forms a stronger support than it' the rail were made solid.

In constructing the sections of the rail it will be seen that their uniform transverse character permits them to be rolled like ordinary rails, and afterward laid to form a track without special appliances or any further eX- pense than that attendant upon the laying ot' the old form, saving, in fact, the additional bulk of iron contained in the tislrplates.

Among other advantages of my invention I may mention that the extension of the portion a' of the section A' to nearly the edge of the base c causes the heads of the spikes to rest against the said portion c', so that it' the bolts which hold the two srctions together should break, or the nuts come ott, the section A' will Vstill beheld in place, and will ai'ford a support to the tread, for the reason that the spikeheads prevent it from moving laterally out of place. rlllle basic support which the flange a' affords also prevents the tilting ofthe section A' in sidewise direction.

Another advantage is as follows: In all kinds of rails, whether ot' steel or iron, it sometimes happens, from inherent llaws or the extreme intluence of the weather, or both combined, that the ordinary solid T-shaped rails break, and involve accident-s of a serious character. Now, when the rails are made contin uously ot' two sections, A A', as in my invention, there is but a small chance for 'iaws to exist in both sections at the same point, and hence, if either section should break, the continuity of the track is not necessarily destroyed, but the other unbroken section will still afford sufficient support to the train to prevent it from leaving its position on the track, thus reducing to a minimum the accidents from this cause. l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isv l. A continuous T shaped railroadrail formed ot two longitudinal sections, one of which sections has a wedge-shape re-entrant cut, and the other ot' which section is of a corresponding` wedge shape in cross-section to take up worn slack, and with the said sections laid with lap-joints, as described.

2. A railroad-rail of the T-shaped -pattern divided longitudinally through the web, base, and tread, with one section having the larger base and tread portion and the smaller web portion, and the other section with the larger web portion and the smaller tread and base, the said sections being bolted or laid together in the lap-joint manner, as described.

3. The section A, having the groove d, in combination with the section A' and the crossbolts, as and for the purpose described.

4. A railroad-rail of the T-shape pattern, composed of two longitudinal sect-ions, A A', with the base of the smaller section A' resting upon the base ot' the larger section and eX- tended to range of contact with the spikes, as described.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 21st day of February, 1880.

AARON C. VAUGHAN.

Witnesses:

EDWD. W. BYRN, GHAs. A. PET'rIT. 

